Posts Tagged ‘Brendan Haywood’

May 8, 2012 · 10:56PM

by Micah Hart

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Looks like we missed one of these during the regular season when we were on vacation, but can’t let the playoffs get too far gone without acknowledging LaMarcus Aldridge‘s handiwork before his season-ending hip injury.

For those that are new around these parts, the Horry scale examines a game-winning buzzer-beater (GWBB) in the categories of difficulty, game situation (was the team tied or behind at the time), importance (playoff game or garden-variety Clippers-Nets game), and celebration, and give it an overall grade on a scale of 1-5 Robert Horrys.

The Blazers had a tough season, losing many, many players to injury, but at least we know one night ended happily. What’d Horry have to say?

Difficulty

Medium-difficulty shot. Aldridge gets the ball pretty far out on the perimeter with his back to the basket. He gets a nice little shoulder into Brendan Haywood as he makes his move towards the paint, creating some space for a step-back jumper. LA is one of the sweetest shooting big men in the game, so I’m not surprised he cans this one. I know you got bumped a little there Brendan, but a little more effort there on the contest might have been nice.

Game Situation

Tied 97-97 in overtime, the Blazers have just 3.7 seconds left to make something happen. Just enough time to get the ball to Aldridge and let him go to work.

Importance

This game was played on April 6, at which point the Blazers were still very much alive for the 8th spot in the Western Conference playoff race. So yeah, a pretty important win. Unfortunately Aldridge would be lost for the season just a few days later, and Portland would be lottery bound.

Celebration

Portland is an awesome place to hit a game-winner. And though the Blazers were away from the friendly confines of the Rose Garden, they still get a nice huddle going on the Mavericks’ homecourt. A tip of the cap to the sportsmanship of Nic Batum, who ended up smack-dab in the middle of the Mavs’ bench when the shot dropped, but refrained from preening as some might have.

Grade

2 Horrys. A tie game, a somewhat easy shot (though LA’s smoothness deserves a lot of credit for making it look so) makes this one a little on the pedestrian side. I’ll give it 2 though for the potential playoff implications at the time and for doing it to the (since departed) defending champs on their home court.

June 1, 2011 · 9:29AM

by Micah Hart

After each game day until the end of the NBA Finals, we’ll be taking a look at the conventional wisdom of the moment — which team is the current favorite to win it all, and which team should be ashamed to still be putting on its jerseys.

Here’s how it looks on the morning of Wednesday, June 1.

Start planning the parade:

Miami Heat

Yeah, LeBron James is amazing. If we didn’t hate him so much, we’d really have to be in awe of how well he’s playing in these playoffs. However, the real star of the show for Miami is its defense. As much praise as we heaped on Chicago for its defensive presence all season, it has been the Heat who have played the best “D” when the stakes got raised. It is their ability to choke out any attack that has them rumbling towards a champagne bath.

Give it up already:

Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks’ bench was supposed to be a big advantage in this series, but man, did they look bad last night. Jason Terry was the only player who made anything that can be called a positive contribution, while Peja Stojakovic, J.J. Barea, and Brendan Haywood each should petition for part of Miami’s playoff share for their contributions to the Heat win in Game 1.

When Shawn Marion and Jason Kidd become your second and third best offensive options, your team is in trouble.

Dirk can’t do this by himself, but it looks like he’s going to have to try.

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Apparently, when big men get dunked on by perimeter players, there is an airtight alibi. And our man Brendan Haywood is the guy to let us know.

“He made a hell of a play, man,” Haywood told ESPNDallas.com during the Mavericks’ shootaround before Saturday’s Game 3. “He went to the 20th floor and I stopped at the 10th. It was one of those plays, I mean, I watched it myself and was like, ‘Whoa, that’s a great play.’

“It was a great play, but I’m not even really worried about that. I’m more worried about how bad our perimeter defense was. I’m like, ‘Peja, uh, can you close the gate a little bit maybe?'”

“I was like, ‘A little late for that, Peja. I don’t really want to hear your bad. Just move your feet a little bit better next time. Just move your feet,'” Haywood said. “I think that’s the problem. There’s no way in the world we should have had Peja on (Kevin) Durant. That’s wrong. We’re going to blame that on a coaching error. If Peja is on Durant, we should automatically as a team yell zone. It should definitely be a zone.”

Goodness. On one hand, this looks to be a clear case of an embarrassed soul saving face for a play that, well, would make Shawn Bradley blush. On the other hand, this could be viewed as an impassioned plea for smarter play from a team that is this close to a NBA championship.

Overall, Haywood is ultimately right. There is absolutely no percentage in pitting Stojakovic against a two-time scoring champ in a Western Conference Finals matchup. Ever. Whether his excoriations will affect team chemistry or any future highlight reel is remaining to be seen.

May 19, 2011 · 11:22PM

by Zettler Clay

Jeff Van Gundy called it the “top play of the year.” Others are saying it’s the top dunk of the playoffs, revisionist memory and all (I think Taj Gibson may have a few things to say about that). But we’ll just settle for “a dunk that’s well-entrenched in Kevin Durant’s highlight reel for the rest of his career.”

Below is the video of the highlight, but here at All Ball, we endeavor to go further than that. If your first name is “Brendan” and last name is “Haywood,” this might be the time for you to disengage from this post.

The astute eye would notice there wasn’t a hand-on-rim connection in this play and might be inclined to discredit it. This position has been discussed ad nauseum by the Hang Time crew and NBA.com’s LeMont Calloway, who handles the Dunk Ladder. But I’d caution against discounting a play in which a 6-foot-9 player extends clean over the top of a 7-foot center and while being pushed away from the hoop, still manages to … just look at it again for yourself.

Team synopsis: With Jamison hurt, Hansbrough rides his recent hot streak into the starting lineup for the Tar Heels, which is a good thing for UNC because this team lacks an inside presence otherwise. Lawson and Felton take turns at the point in Denver, but share the backcourt here. Vinsanity may not be the force of nature he once was, but North Carolina will still need him to be the go-to scorer on this team.